midwest Merc

Here's my story:

Thinking of buying a CPO 5 series or CLS as my current lease is running out in less than a year...Put some negative equity into a two year lease on a Toyota lease and working to get back to par on cars -- has been a tough two years away from my passion - german automobiles..

Prior to my two year pennance lease, I have owned E46 M3 Cabriolet, E39 540 and E36 328. Have also owned a C Class 240Kompressor.

Recently I drove a CLS, loved the aesthetics and the driving experience was damn close to what I love about driving a 550/545/535I.

Knowing I need to stay below $50k on my next car, I was delighted to see I could acquire a CPO CLS that works in my budget (probably 06 500).

So, the CLS is a major contender for this many time Bimmer lover (as is the A5 Quattro).

Here's my questions to you CLS owners --

Tell me the three reasons to buy this as my next car vs. what are the three things that would give you pause to re-purchase the CLS if you could re-think it?

Welcome the input...

Mercutio.Mont

Good:

• The CLS has a much nicer interior than the BMW vehicles. This is subjective.
• CLS doesn't have iDrive - CLS's controls for stereo, climate, seats, etc, are superior to BMWs offerings.
• CLS, based on the E series, should be extraordinarily safe. BMW does not have a very good safety record. (Based on real world driver death rates 2001-2004, the latest available. Recent crash test data suggests BMW may have gotten better, but we don't have the driver death rates for newest gen BMWs or Mercedes yet, so we won't know for certain for a bit longer.)

Bad:

• The CLS depreciates very quickly, as do all M-Bs. I believe BMWs depreciate slightly slower. That seems to be important to you, yes?
• CLS styling may be very stale in two years.
• New S and CL class do what the CLS does but better.

j_belll

+
The sexiest in its class
Looks incredible when modded
Chicks love it

-
If you keep it stock, it doesn't look as good as it can

midwest Merc

Appreciate the feed-back...

Anyone else care to chime-in?

90+ hits but only two replies

Timeless

I think a lot of people are interested in the replies as well...but do not have a CLS to make comments.

I believe the CLS series is usually the heavier if performance matters to you. I personally feel they are very unique looking and people either love it or hate it.

brlrvr

I had an E39 540, and now have an '06 CLS.

IMO, comparing the 2 cars, the 540 is more fun to drive with enthusiasm. The CLS has a smoother ride and is better looking.

The cars weigh about the same and have about the same amount of power.

5 people will fit in the E39 if necessary. Not really an option in the CLS.

I have not had the CLS long enough to know what the down-the-road maintenance and repairs will be like, but if it is anything like the 540, I am not looking forward to it.

One thing I do not like about the CLS is the height of the door sill; for me, there is no comfortable place for my left elbow. Also, the visibility to the outer corners of the car from the driver's seat is pretty poor.

If you like driving hard, the CLS is probably not your first choice. Not that the car won't do it, but it doesn't really ask for it.

I like them both, but E39 and the CLS are 2 different cars.

MASA

I recently sold my 2005 SLK 350 and purchased a CLS 500 w/ 7K Miles.
The top three factors which drove me to this car (my other choice was a 745i) was of course the sexy styling, super quiet cabin and the (in my opinion) superior aesthetics of the interior design compared to BMW.

I wouldn't mind a little bit more torque in the lower RPM's (which the CLS 550) should offer and getting used to the brakes take some time.

midwest Merc

Danke again for the input...

Having owned both BMW and MB, I am well versed in the trade-offs between the two.This was reinforced recently after driving both the CLS and 550,535I. Interesting to hear others take too (but want to avoid BMW vs MB debates!)

Dream for me would be to combine the driving dynamics of the 5'er with the aesthetic appeal (and safety) of the Benz. But that ain't gonna happen!

Really mostly interested in what CLS owners love and love maybe not so much about their CLS?

THX!!!

brlrvr

In that case, minor flaws, IMHO: (1) No radio station controls on the steering wheel, (2) DVD based NAV, (3) Cup Holder placement, (4) Exhaust note kind of whimpy, (5) Rear view mirror too close, and blocks vision to the right, (6) Can't just check the oil with the dipstick, (7) Would like the ability to display the time on the center screen instead of the radio station, (8) Rear seat leg room, (9) Kind of jumpy at light throttle with the trans in Sport mode.

I could live without the fog light turn helper.

Love the seats, the power trunk lid, the louvers in the sun roof shade that let you vent without letting the sunlight in, the trunk space, and the door threshold plates.

Mercutio.Mont

The seats are too wide for my body.

midwest Merc

You're lucky -- and bucking the national trends too

midwest Merc

Whimpy exhaust note was something I noticed on the 5'er too - I'll evolve that statement to "muted exhaust".

DVD nav might have been more the norm in 06- but I can live with that.

Now no radio station changing via steering wheel controls on a $70k+ car! I was dissapointed at the lack of rear seat leg room too -- but I'll never be back there

slester

I'm not sure why you say you can't change the radio station on your CLS from the steering wheel.

I have no issue with that and do it pretty much every time I'm in the car. In the 2006 you can only move from station to station (up and down) but cannot set it to scan your presets. The newer models do allow you the choice however so you can set the steering wheel controls to scan your presets or all the stations.

brlrvr

I will grant you that if you scroll through to the right screen you will be able to use the upper page up/down button to go from one station to the next, but that is not the same as having a dedicated radio station button on the steering wheel that uses your pre-sets, as you pointed out.

It is just a nit that I wanted to pick. It seems like an odd thing to skip on this car when even garden variety sedans have this feature.

Inf4life

The only thing that I hate about my CLS is the brake squeal. It pisses me off like no other. That is pretty much it. I love everything else.

midwest Merc

Thanks everyone for your input...

Love hearing about owning a vehicle before plunking down the coin

Do 06/07's have run flats?? (he asks with trepidation)

Inf4life

My 06 did. But I just put 20's on there so they 18's are sitting at the gf's mom's house.

Mercutio.Mont

There isn't a way to scroll through sat radio on the steering wheel at all.

brlrvr

RE: Run flats.

Mine does not have run flats; it has a space saver spare.

midwest Merc

Excellent! I was hoping they weren't standard

Happy 4th everyone!

Leejack

Yeah brake squeal pisses me off too! The only other thing that I would do different is take the "mute" button off the dash and put it on the wheel

Inf4life

I do agree with the mute button thing too. I had one on my steering wheel in my GTO and it was great when I had my system in.

Also, another thing that pisses me off is if you press and hold the volume up button the steering wheel too hard it will sometimes honk the horn.